


Broken Promises, Broken Dreams

by Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Spoilers, Swearing, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-03-02 21:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath/pseuds/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath
Summary: What if Sayaka was successful in her attempt to frame Makoto? And how would this affect him later on?





	1. The Corpse

**Author's Note:**

> First for this fandom and just something I wanted to explore for myself. I don't know if this has been done before, but I'm still going to try and give my own interpretation as to what would have happened if Sayaka actually did kill Leon.

I decided to go straight to the dining hall as I promised. I might as well since Ishimaru might be upset if we weren't there. I would've checked in my room to see if Maizono was there, but there really wasn't much point. I figured she'd be one of the first there. So, if anything happened to her, then she wouldn't have shown up.

As soon as I walked into the dining hall, Ishimaru was there to greet me almost immediately. "Hello, Naegi!" he exclaimed, "And good morning! Can you believe it? I was the very first one here this morning!"

Honestly, that wasn't too hard to believe. He was such a stickler for the rules that if he wasn't so friendly, I would've sworn he had a huge stick up his ass. I figured everyone who had arrived here on time could be considered model high schoolers. And the selection didn't really surprise me from first glance.

The next to greet me was Fujisaki. She chuckled softly and finally said "good morning" to me as well. As did Hina.

Ogami looked at me and said, "I suppose I'm early."

However, the biggest reaction caused me the most relief today. I saw Maizono smiling face among those who were gathered in the dining hall. She immediately jumped up and ran towards me.

"Naegi!" she screamed as she ran up and hugged me. "I'm so glad to see you're safe."

"I could say the same," I replied.

"Oh my gosh," Hina said with a sly smile, "you two just need to get a room already."

I noticed what she was implying, and my face immediately went red. "Wh- what? It's nothing like that. I just –"

"Oh, don't worry about them," Maizono said, trying to help me save face. Although, I figured it was a futile effort at this point.

"So, you're doing okay?"

"I'm at least better than yesterday, but having you here makes me feel safer." She pulled me to the table and sat me down next to her. "Oh! Which reminds me…" She got closer and whispered to me, "Do you have my key?"

I almost forgot. I guess she didn't want anyone else to know that we switched last night just to be safe. I really don't blame her at this point. As I tried to ignore Hina's leering expression as she wolfed down a donut, I nodded.

"Under the table," she whispered. I guess to avoid anyone seeing what we were doing. I reached into my pocket as she reached into her bag. We swapped keys and it seemed no one was the wiser.

After a while, we shared some idle chit-chat while we waited for the rest of the students to arrive. I figured those who arrived a little late would be the ones with a more relaxed sense of time. Most high schoolers would fall under this category.

Those students, in this case, were Owada, Enoshima, and Yamada. Owada was surprisingly the first of them to arrive, but I guess even the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader had some sense of punctuality. "Yo," was the only word he said before taking his seat and resting his feet up on the table.

Yamada followed soon after. "My apologies, ladies and gentlemen," he said as he took his seat. "My, ah, morning duties took a little longer than usual…" I'm sure that none of us wanted to know what that entailed at all.

Next was Enoshima. She wore that 1000-watt smile of hers as she approached us. "Sorry I'm late," she announced. "My makeup would just not agree with me this morning."

As she took her seat, Ogami said to her, "My apologies for staring, but… you do seem a bit different in person than you do from your magazine shoots."

"Ooooohhh, my god! Yeah, they have those things, like, photoshopped to Hell and back. Honestly, though, how different could I look?"

"Forgive me. I just had to ask."

I do remember talking to her about it when we met. She did seem a bit defensive about it. I think it might just be the freckles. You'd barely notice them from far away, to be honest.

After a while, we started more conversation, but it seemed like Maizono was more on-edge than I thought. Her hand kept grazing mine under the table, I guess looking for comfort. I really wasn't one to decline. I wrapped my fingers around hers and that seemed to calm her down. For now at least.

Finally, we had the students arriving who kept everyone waiting forever who don't care about time or other people in general. The kind to move at their own pace. I could almost tell that Ishimaru was most annoyed with them.

Kirigiri arrived about twenty minutes after Enoshima, wearing the same expression as she always does. "I suppose I'm late," she said in a monotone voice as she sat down. As usual, she didn't really take the initiative to talk to anyone there.

A few minutes later, Celeste came in with her unusually cheerful smile. "Good morning, everyone." As she sat down, part of me wondered if this was all some sort of bullshitting she was doing to throw everyone off or something. I couldn't say for sure.

She was soon followed by Fukawa, still as anxious as ever. She froze as everyone looked at her. "Wh- what?" she shouted defensively with a noticeable stutter in her voice. "Is it s-so wrong to be l-l-late? And don't stare at m-me!" She rushed to her seat to avoid any further attention.

Then Hagakure arrived. "Hey, guys. I didn't oversleep or anything," he stated. "Just got lost. I blame the Bermuda Triangle." I can't tell if he actually meant for us to believe that or if he was just screwing around. Either way, the issue was not pressed upon further.

At the end of the table, Ishimaru rose with a frustrated groan. "We're still missing people."

Everyone looked around and I realized he was right. Hina was the one to point it out. "Yeah, where are Togami and Kuwata?"

I figured those two would be the kind to arrive late, but I didn't think they'd be this late.

But like clockwork, Togami arrived with elitist scorn etched into his face. "What?" he barked as if he was on trial. "Did something happen?"

Owada replied, "Did you see Kuwata on your way here?"

"Hmph. Why would I? I came here straight from my room. Why would I care about his whereabouts?"

As he sat down, everyone seemed to grow uneasy. It wasn't unexpected for him to be the type that's late, but under these circumstances, everyone started to worry.

Ishimaru sat back down and took charge once again. "Very well!" he shouted. "We shall wait for him to arrive! However, as most of the students are present, I see no reason as to why we shouldn't begin our meeting!"

And we did just that. But as we talked, we still waited for Leon to arrive. The time dragged on, and as we ran out of findings to discuss, Kuwata's tardiness became even more apparent.

It was Enoshima who had finally had enough of it. "Alright! This is, like, bullshit! Where is Carrot-Top and why isn't he getting his butt over to our meeting?"

"This is most concerning," Ishimaru replied. "Should someone take the initiative to go check up on classmate Kuwata!"

I decided to reply, "Well, I do think I might've left something in my room, so I ought to go." I remembered that we took the sword and I kept it for self-defense. It was as good an excuse as any to go and see what was up. "I'll see about Kuwata on the way back."

Without hesitation, Maizono stood up and said, "I'll go with you. After all, you'll need your assistant, right? Just to be sure nothing happens to you as well."

Celeste noted, "That is a good strategy. After all, Kuwata could possibly be planning on drawing someone out to murder them."

My blood ran cold at the statement. She wasn't wrong. What if Kuwata really was that desperate?

Fujisaki added, "Do you really think that someone would actually try that?" Fear was present in her voice and I frankly couldn't blame her.

"It's always a possibility. You never want to discount anything."

"Hey!" Owada shouted. "Don't say shit like that!"

Celeste only giggled. "I'm just saying to be careful." That's when her red eyes pierced into my own. "You never know what might happen…"

I was too shocked to even think of anything to say back. Thankfully, Maizono was there to help. "Don't listen to her, Naegi," she reassured me as she took me by the wrist. "Let's just go."

As we left, Hina said, "Try not to have too much fun!" I could feel the smirk on her lips even as we left the dining hall.

Then it was just me and Maizono. We made our way to the dorm rooms. "I have to ask," I began, "What do you think happened to Kuwata? Do you really think… do you really think he actually would try to lure us out to kill someone? Or worse…"

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'm sure he probably just slept through the alarm."

"Yeah… you're probably right."

But that didn't really help as we approached Kuwata's room. The nameplate had his 8-bit drawing on it just above his name. I knocked on the door, praying for the best. "Leon!" I shouted. No answer. I knocked again. "Kuwata!" Nothing. This was bad, and it seemed like Maizono agreed. I pounded on the door harder just to make sure he heard it. "Hey, Kuwata! Wake up! We're all waiting for you at the breakfast meeting!"

We didn't hear a thing. Maizono replied, "Maybe he's a heavy sleeper." It was sensible, but I sure didn't like the sound of this. "We should focus on returning the sword. I'll stay outside your room and let you know if something happens."

"Thanks." With that, I took my room key and entered.

As soon as I turned on the lights, something shocking stood before me. Half the room was trashed. The table was overturned, drawers were opened, the bed was a mess, and the sword was unsheathed and on the ground. I had a bad feeling about this. But what was Maizono doing in here? I was almost afraid to look in the bathroom.

That's when I saw it. Something that rocked me to my very core.

I saw Kuwata slumped against the wall, blood everywhere in the shower, and a knife sticking out of his abdomen.

I… I… I was speechless. All I could do was scream. And then, everything went black as I felt myself falling backward.


	2. The Accusation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be a bit of a rehash of the original scene, just with Sayaka alive, but I did try to put my own spin on it and hopefully condense it a bit. Mostly the ending of the chapter is important, so I don't blame you for skipping to that.

When I woke up, I saw the ceiling of the gym and Hina's face looking over me. She seemed worried.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she proclaimed. "You're awake."

With a groan, I attempted to sit up, looking around at everyone in the gym. Maizono was also close by. "Naegi," she said, "are you okay?"

That's when I remembered what I saw before I passed out. Kuwata's body slumped against my shower. I don't think that image would ever escape my mind. And it raised one question I had to ask to keep myself sane. "Please tell me I didn't see what I think I saw."

And leave it to Togami to rip the Band-aid off for me. "Make no mistake, Naegi. Leon Kuwata is dead." My blood ran cold at that moment, knowing that one of our friends was killed. "It was confirmed. He was long gone."

"What?! But… but how?! It's that psychotic bear! He's the one! He killed Leon!" I jumped off the bench and ran towards the gathering of others. "Why are we just standing around here?"

"Why do you think?" Owada rhetorically asked. "The fuckin' bear told us to gather here."

" _But he's the reason Kuwata is dead!_ "

"Contrary to popular belief," we heard. And we all knew who exactly that voice was. Monokuma sprouted from the podium. His demented smile mocked us all. "The, as you so eloquently put it, 'psychotic bear' had no such role in Mr. Kuwata's death."

" _Liar! You're definitely the one!_ "

"Wrong, my dear Naegi! If there's one thing I am not, it's dishonest. Deceptive, sadistic, maybe a little mean at times. But I tell only the truth."

"Then who did it?!"

He snickered as if the answer was staring us right in the face. "Isn't it obvious? It was one of _you!_ " My eyes widened at the idea. "One of you runts finally took the initiative to off a classmate! Finally! Killing someone just like I wanted. This is so great! I can already feel the despair rising."

That was when Hina said, "Hold on. If someone did kill him, wouldn't they have 'graduated' by now? It looks like everyone's here."

"Indeed!" Ishimaru shouted. "Everyone excluding Kuwata is accounted for!"

Monokuma laughed at us again, irritating just about everyone there. "As if it would be that easy," he replied. "Didn't you read the rulebook? The only way to graduate is to kill someone and get away with it. Which brings me to the real festivities… the Class Trial!"

"Class Trial?" Maizono repeated.

"The true test of if someone got away with it. Now comes the time for everyone to investigate the scene of the crime. You'll have a few hours to gather whatever clues you have to in order to determine the true perpetrator. Then, I'll call you all to the trial room where you will present all the best evidence you have to pinpoint the killer and ultimately decide who the Blackened that disturbed the peace is. If you get it right, I'll execute the killer. But if you get it wrong… Upupupupupupupu… I'll be executing everyone _but_ the killer!"

Everyone's faces warped from mutual horror at the situation we were presented. If we couldn't find who killed Leon, then we were going to die, too!

Monokuma continued, "This is where the real despair begins. Friend against friend trying to oust the true culprit and throw them to the wolves, or the killer condemning not only the victim but their whole class to death."

"Execute?" Fujisaki asked. "You mean… you'll kill us if we get it wrong?"

"Damn straight, cutie! I always do enjoy watching the faces of the poor saps who will face their ultimate demise."

Suddenly, it looked like Enoshima had enough of it. She bolted forward and shouted, "Hold on a second! I'm not going along with this bullshit!"

"What? But why?"

"How is that, like, even a question?! You expect me to be risking my ass for this one trial? That's totally not cool!"

"Now hold on a second, Freckles! You agreed to the rules."

"I didn't agree to shit! As far as I'm concerned, you can take your lame rules and shove 'em up your monochrome ass!"

Ogami walked forward to calm her down. "Miss Enoshima," she said, "I do not think that antagonizing him is a good idea."

"And what's he gonna do? He's just a stupid, lame stuffed toy."

And it looked like Monokuma had enough. "Oh-ho-ho. Now you've gone and done it." He jumped off the podium and… waddled over to her. I guess it was supposed to be threatening. "You've just incurred the wrath of the mighty Monoku-!"

That was all he could get out before Enoshima's boot landed on his face. "I'm sorry. Were you like saying something there?"

"Big mistake," Monokuma scolded. Suddenly, her confidence started to drop. "Violence against the principal is strictly forbidden. You were warned before. Now you must be punished."

"Yeah right. What are you gonna do? Snuggle me to death?"

"Oh, you're just asking for it now. Activate summoning magic! Save me, Spears of Gungnir! You're my only hope!"

Suddenly, before all of us, the floorboards opened up and several spears shot right through Enoshima's chest. We all collectively gasped in horror as we saw her get impaled. Blood poured down her body and the spears.

In horror, Enoshima looked down at the spears impaling her. She managed to get one more statement out. "Okay… like… this… kinda sucks… This wasn't... supposed... to..."

With that, she fell to the ground. Lifeless. Funaware ended up fainting at the sight of it. Everyone else stepped back from the body. I for one was in shock but could no longer be in denial. There were doubts that Monokuma was serious about this.

He went back to the stage and struggled to get his little legs to reach the stage. "Sorry about that, but I guess I had to make an example out of one of you to keep you all in line. In case you're wondering, she wasn't the killer. So, we still get our trial after all."

It wasn't long until everyone was staring at each other with suspicion. Was it really possible? Did one of us kill Kuwata? The thought alone that there was a killer among us was a discomforting one, to say the least. And I wasn't looking forward to this trial at all.

"Now that that's over with," Monokuma resumed, "I'll let you know one last thing. Make sure to check your student IDs. I've got a little something to help you along with the investigation. I like to call it the Monokuma File! A case file of all the relevant information you'll need to solve this mystery. Later, dummies."

With that, he hopped backward off the podium and disappeared again. We were all left speechless, but there was one voice of reason to snap us out of our trance.

"Everyone," Kirigiri said, "we need to focus. We don't have much time until we need to head to the trial. We must investigate immediately."

That was something I could get behind. Despite being paralyzed with fear, we needed to find the killer. "Kirigiri's right," I added. "If we don't find out who did this, we'll all get killed. And we know that he will. For Leon and Junko. We will solve this case!"

"I like your spirit!" Ishimaru replied. "We shall first need someone to guard the crime scene to make sure no evidence is taken or destroyed further!"

Owada stepped up first to say, "I can do that. If anyone fucks around with it, they're getting my foot right up their ass!"

Then Celeste raised a concern. "But what if you are the killer. It would make it very easy for you to destroy evidence."

"First off, I didn't fucking do it, you dumb bitch! But secondly, I see your point."

Ogami was the next to step up. Her deep voice said, "I'll help. Our presence will deter the killer from trying anything, provided that neither of us is the culprit."

"And we'll have some accountability. Happy now?"

I was liking how this was going. There was no doubt that we couldn't figure out exactly who was behind this case. We were going to make damn sure that whoever did this wasn't going to get away with this.

"Alright everyone," Kyoko said, "let's open up the Monokuma File."

We opened our IDs, found the file, and read what it said about the case.

_Victim: Leon Kuwata_  
_The time of death was around 12:50 AM._  
_The body was found in Makoto Naegi’s private room in the dormitory area._  
_The victim was killed in that room’s shower._  
_Cause of death is a wound to the stomach area made by a sharp object._  
_There is some evidence of blunt force trauma to the head that occurred before death._

We all looked at it, but one line, in particular, was what stood out and made me freeze up. Hagakure was the one to say it out loud, "Body was found in Makoto Naegi's private room."

And just like that, suspicion was aimed directly at me. I stuttered as I said, "Wait. It's not what it looks like."

"And in his bathroom, no less," Celeste added. "How very… illuminating."

I didn't like how she said that because I knew what it implied. "Just a moment! I know how it looks, but it isn't what it seems like! I'd never do something like that!"

Togami added, "As if any of us would be saying the same thing, but desperation causes rash choices. Though I never would have pegged you as the type to do something so depraved."

"Come on! It's not how it looks. I'd never kill anyone…" As I tried to explain my case, the rest of the survivors filed out of the gym to start investigating – likely just to make sure they could say it was me without a doubt. Mondo ended up carrying Toko away. As I futilely tried to convince them of my innocence, I began to give up since nobody listened. Then I saw her face. "Maizono! You don't believe…"

But that's when it hit me. Maizono stayed in my room last night. The night that Kuwata was murdered. My heart sank because it seemed like we both realized I figured out what the truth was. I just couldn't believe it. Maizono was the killer. That's the reason she wanted to swap rooms. She wasn't scared for her safety. She was… trying to frame me.

Her eyes looked as if she was trying to say "I'm sorry" before scurrying away from me. Leaving me standing there with Enoshima's impaled body lying behind me. I couldn't believe it. Maizono… was trying to frame me for her murder. Even after all that she said about wanting to be closer to me. Apparently, whatever she saw on that DVD was enough to make her betray me. I had hoped that it wouldn't happen. Even if it did, I never would have thought… it was too much to take in.

This couldn't be right. This couldn't be the whole story. I had to find out why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave your comments. Let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback.


	3. The Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to switch to the last-name system of referring to the characters. I edited Chapter 1 to reflect this and will do the same for Chapter 2 later.

I followed Maizono and tried to get her alone. She was standing with Togami and Celeste. This was it. I had to find out the truth. I walked over, that horrible feeling in my stomach as I approached. It seemed that Togami noticed my presence first because he gave me a dirty look as soon as I got within two meters of them.

"Oh, look who it is," he said, his smug self-importance dripping from his voice.

Celeste chimed in, "Honestly, I don't know how you could ever consider him a friend."

Now, that was just unnecessary. I clenched my fists but avoided punching her. I didn't wanna give them any more reasons to suspect me.

After that, I just ignored them and focused on Maizono. "Hey, Maizono," I began, "can I talk to you privately?"

"Sure," she replied nervously. I don't know if she knew what I was going to ask and was worried about that or if she was just feigning it to avoid suspicion around the others. Regardless, she waved the others away. "Guys, could you give some space?"

Togami replied, "Hmph. Try not to let him brainwash you into thinking he's innocent. That sort of thing will get us all killed. A murderer like him would try something like that." With that, he and Celeste left, likely to investigate.

I pulled Maizono to the side and out of the way of others. I figured raising alarm about her being the killer wouldn't really help my case. And as much as I wanted to clear my name, throwing a friend under the bus wasn't something I could bring myself to do… even though it seemed like that's what she was trying to do to me…

No, it couldn't be like that. I had to ask her what was wrong.

"What is it, Naegi?" she asked calmly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and finally spat out what I needed to say. "You killed Kuwata, didn't you?"

Her face went pale at the accusation. That was all I needed to see to confirm what I already knew was true, but desperately hoped wasn't true. "I… I'm sorry, Naegi."

"Why?!" I shouted in a hushed voice. It was all I could think to say.

"I didn't have a choice!" she whispered back. "Everything happened so fast. I just… I wasn't able to do anything about it."

"What do you mean?"

She inhaled and said to me, "He was trying to _me_."

My eyes widened at the statement. "What?"

"He broke into the room. I don't know how. Maybe he was trying to kill you, but I was there instead. I don't think he knew about the room switch."

No one should have known, so maybe it was just as well possible that it did happen that way. But… why isn't she correcting them? "Well, if you killed him, then why are you letting them frame me? You know what'll happen if I'm found guilty. Everyone else dies!"

"I don't feel good about it, but…" Maizono rubbed her shoulder as she looked at her feet. "Come with me."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me along to the AV room. When we got there, she pulled out her DVD from Monokuma. She placed it in and gave me the headphones to listen to it. As soon as she pressed play, I was trepidatious about what she could have possibly seen.

The screen was black, and then vibrant colors lit up the picture. It was Maizono on stage, as radiant as ever, clearly enjoying her time in front of the crowd. And there with her was what I assumed was the pop group that she cared about so deeply.

Then, the voice I had come to loathe blared through the headphones and reminded me of how this might end. "Maizono Sayaka, The Ultimate Pop Sensation. Lead singer for a world-famous all-girl pop band. For these girls, the glowing spotlight only made them that much more beautiful. But then…"

Static filled the screen. When it ended, the same shot appeared and Maizono was missing from the scene. Suddenly, the lights went out and as a fade occurred, the whole group was unconscious (or worse) in the next shot. My eyes widened as I saw the stage in ruins and Monokuma's face appeared on the large LED screen behind them. He continued, "This ultra-successful team suddenly fell apart. None of them will ever perform on the stage again. None of them will ever feel the warmth of the spotlight. For Maizono, there is simply nowhere for her to return to. So, here's the trillion-yen question: What, oh what, could have caused this group to fall to pieces?"

Then the dreaded words filled the screen soon after.

_Look for the answer after graduation!_

Without warning, the video cut off and I was left flabbergasted. "Wh… what the hell?" I managed to push out.

Maizono removed the disc and said, "I can't abandon them. I care about them too much. I wanted to tell the truth, but when I realized what that meant…"

"So, you're just going to let the rest of us die?!"

Tears welled up in her eye. "Naegi, it's not like that at all! I didn't want to kill Kuwata! I was just trying to defend myself. I didn't want you to worry! And if I knew about all this, I wouldn't have killed him! You have to believe me."

I wanted to. I really did want to, but… what she was saying… her letting the rest of us die… I don't know what to say to that. It was too much to take in.

She continued, "I wish there was another way, but I… I just can't leave them. Please… you have to help me."

"Why the hell would I let myself die for your mistake?!" I realized how callous I came off as soon as I said that. And her face went in shock as she heard the words. "Maizono," I said more gently, "it's not like that. I just –"

"No… It's fine. I understand. It's a lot to ask of you… but at least consider it. I really wish we could have spent more time together, but… I don’t know what else I can do now. I'm sorry."

She scurried out just after, leaving me in a state of shock. I didn't know what I could do. How do I even respond to such a fact? I know she made a mistake, but… letting the rest of us die for this? I couldn't believe that she would do something like that.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" I heard a voice say. I turned around and saw the two-foot-tall teddy bear standing behind me. "Seems like such a terrible circumstance. I mean, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be able to… _bear_ it. Upupupupupu!"

"What do you want?" I shouted.

"Well, I just happened to catch wind of your conversation. By the way, clever ducks realizing that you didn't have to sleep in your own bedroom. But don't get any funny ideas. Or do. I don't care. Makes it more entertaining for me." He giggled again and I knew exactly what he was implying. I seriously hated that bear.

"What are you even doing here?"

"Are you kidding? Listening to all this juicy drama gets me all excited. I can already feel the despair going through my little veins! It's just too much to handle!" I could see him blushing from all the sadistic satisfaction he was getting from this.

But then I realized, if it was true, he would know it for sure. "Monokuma… did Maizono really –"

"And why the hell, pray tell, are you askin' me for? She just told you she did it. Come on. I know it's not officially trial time yet, but jeez. You need to get those brain-cells firing on all cylinders. If this is how dense you're gonna be during the trial, then you better pray your classmates are smarter than you."

Goddammit… I couldn't believe it. Maizono really… killed Kuwata. "Why…? Why is this happening?"

"Because fate's a cruel little bitch, she is." Thanks for answering a question I didn't want your input on, asshole. "I just find it weird that she didn't tell you the morning after. Even just in private. Wouldn't getting attacked be something she'd let you know about? Especially with the reason you guys switched rooms in the first place."

As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good question. But… "She just didn't want me to worry, right? I mean, Kuwata was trying to break in to kill me."

"And she's just lettin' ya die for it?" He shook his head. "That doesn't sound like the friendly thing to do. If I was you, I'd be trying to make that skank pay for shafting me like that."

"I can't just… condemn my friend to death. I mean, Kuwata broke into the room. She had her back against the wall!"

"Huh?" he replied, seemingly genuinely confused. "Now how the hell did he manage to do that? Now I gotta give the guy posthumous props for his feat. Breaking my unbreakable locks like that? The little scamp!"

I tried to ignore his stupid remarks, but that one word made me question everything. "Unbreakable?" I repeated.

And it seemed to be important because he seemed to go into shock. "Upup-Oops! I've said too much."

"Wh- What do you mean?"

"Listen, I gotta bounce, but you gotta decide. If you wanna keep protecting her and take the blame, that's fine by me. But if you don't wanna be pinned for a crime you didn't commit, then you better start lookin' for evidence. You won't have a ton of time left before the trial. Make good use of it!" And with that, he was gone again.

And he had a good point. I didn't want to set Maizono up like this, but… I couldn't let everyone else die for this. Even if it meant letting her die… All of this made me feel sick to my stomach. I was caught with a terrible choice. Neither was appealing, but I don't know if I could handle betraying her like this.

 

* * *

 

After some brief thought, I took to Monokuma's suggestion and decided to start looking for clues. And the first place to do that was my room. I hurried over there to find Ogami and Owada standing guard. Their imposing statures struck fear into my heart before they even noticed me.

When they did notice, they seemed to look upon me with scorn. Owada spoke first, "Look who decided to fuckin' show up."

"Well," I replied, "it is my room."

"I know you're trying to be cute or some shit, but don't fuck with me. You're still the prime suspect and I'd have half a mind to knock your smart ass out again."

I still remembered that first day. Definitely not an experience I'd like to repeat. "Look, I don't wanna give you any trouble. I just wanna look around. Maybe find some evidence that might prove my innocence."

"Hmph. Fine." He stood aside and allowed me into the room. "Just don't go trying to mess up any evidence or fuck up the investigation. I'm warning you right now."

"Duly noted. Thanks."

I entered the room and looked around at the carnage. Yeah, it definitely seems like there was a struggle. I looked on the ground and noticed the replica sword on the ground. It was out of its sheath. I guess it was used in the attack. It had to have been. But it looked like some of the gold plating on the sheath was flaking off. Maybe it was used by Maizono to fight of Kuwata. But if that's true… then why was the knife there? Why didn't she just use the sword to kill him? By the looks of it, the sword is relatively clean. Some of the gold plating on the blade seems to have come off, but that's about it.

"Let me through," I heard a voice say. I looked back and saw that it was Kirigiri. She wore her usual stoic expression as she asked – well, more like demanded – Ogami let her though. The larger woman did so with little hesitation. She then said something to Owada that I didn't hear.

She entered the crime scene and saw me observing the carnage in the room. "Looking for evidence, Naegi?" she asked me. "Or are you here to destroy it?"

"Hey!" I replied. "I'm innocent. I'll let you look at everything here. Why would I have any reason to destroy evidence? Especially if it would help clear my name?"

"A teenage boy allowing a girl to search through every last corner of his private quarters? You really must be convinced of your innocence if you're willing to allow that."

I felt my cheeks warm up as I stuttered, "It's n-not like I have anything like th-that to hide."

"Very well." She didn't even seem fazed by any of this. She just went to work, cold and calculating. Crouched to the ground while attempting to find the evidence.

I don't even know if she believed I was the killer. I had to ask. "Hey, Kirigiri." She looked up at me. "You don't really think I did it, do you?"

"That's what I'm here to figure out, isn't it?"

"But everyone else was so quick to blame me."

"I don't cast judgment unless I have all the facts first. As far as I could say right now, you could be guilty or innocent. Purely a Schrodinger's Cat scenario until I have more knowledge of the scene." She stood up and went to examine the rest of the room. I don't know if that was reassuring or disheartening.

Owada was there to completely shatter any hope of it being reassuring. "If you're tryin' to convince her that it wasn't you, that ain't how this works. Don't go biasing everything here."

I wondered if he realized the irony of saying that.

Ever so calmly, Kirigiri opened up the bathroom. I went over to see for myself. Unfortunately, my eyes did not deceive me. There he was. Kuwata was lying there in a pool of his own blood with the knife in his midsection. Part of me hoped I was imagining it, but it couldn't be helped now. Kuwata was truly dead. Even now, I couldn't believe Maizono did it.

"Oh look," I heard. I recognized the self-important voice anywhere. Togami entered the room. "The killer trying to sway the investigation. Or, is he just coming back to get some sick enjoyment out of observing his kill?"

All I could do was grumble to myself. I could try to tell him that he was wrong, but he wouldn't believe me anyway.

"Step aside," he continued. "I have business to attend to." Kirigiri suddenly held her arm out to stop him. Something like that seemed to catch Togami off guard. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm not letting you mishandle the body," she replied.

"And what gives you the right?!"

"For starters, the fact that I'm wearing gloves puts me at an advantage. Secondly, I highly doubt you've spent any time investigating dead bodies. I doubt you'd even know how to handle one properly."

"And who made you the chief investigator?"

She didn't even respond to his question before saying, "Stay out of my way, and I'll let you look at the body later. Besides, I already called dibs."

"Are you serious right now?!"

"She did," Owada answered. "I can say that she did call it. So, step aside before I break your goddamn legs."

Togami didn't even bother trying to protest. "As if I want to participate in such farce." He left and started investigating the rest of the room.

"Care to join me?" Kirigiri asked.

I could only reply, "What?"

"If you really are innocent, then it would be prudent to examine the corpse. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh…" I was still in shock while seeing the body. The guy who I previously talked to was lying motionless and lifeless in front of me. But she was right. I needed to investigate. "I guess."

"Good." Without hesitation, she handed me a pair of rubber gloves. I wasted no time putting them on, but I still wondered why she had them with her in the first place. "Move the head forward," she instructed.

Wordlessly and very reluctantly, I did as I was told. To feel the cold body was surreal. He really was… gone. Still, I had a job to do and no time to mull over this now. "Look at the back of his neck," she said. And I noticed the gold filings resting at the base of his neck. "Interesting, isn't it?"

"What?" I asked.

"I wonder why this was here in the first place."

"…I don't know…"

"Also, look at his crotch."

"Excuse me?!" I almost let Kuwata's head slam against the tile when I heard the audacity of what she was suggesting. "What kind of pervert are you?!"

"I thought I noticed some of the gold filing there as well. I'd investigate it myself, but… well, I am a girl. I would be improper."

With even more reluctance, I spread Kuwata's legs for Kirigiri. The very sentence was making me incredibly uncomfortable. Proving my innocence better be worth this. But it seemed that she was right. The same gold filings were there, too.

"It seems that the culprit may have struck him with the sword to incapacitate him," she concluded. "For an opponent far weaker than him, this seems like a legitimate strategy."

It made sense. Kuwata broke in and Maizono fought him off with the sword. Then she took his knife and killed him… or did he really break in? Monokuma's words still echoed through my mind. If the locks couldn't be broken, how the hell did he manage to get in? Did Maizono lie…?

Kirigiri finally went down to the body herself and checked out the knife sticking out of Kuwata's midsection. "Naegi," she said, "does this knife seem familiar to you?"

"What?" I asked. "Why would it be familiar?"

"Just keep a note of it." She stood up, still preferring to be cryptic as possible. "We're done here."

"Wait! You're not gonna give me any hints? Clearly you know something I don't!"

"If you don't figure it out for yourself, then you'll never be fully convinced. You want to prove your own innocence, so take the initiative in doing so." She turned on her heel and started walking away from me. Great. Another mystery for me to solve.

We left the bathroom and Togami was already waiting for us. "About time," he said. Kirigiri didn't even bother acknowledging him as she went for something on my dresser.

She turned to me and asked, "Do you mind if I take this?" She was pointing at my notepad.

"Huh?" I replied before saying, "uh, yeah. Sure, I guess." I don't know what she could want with it, but I'm not gonna step in her way. If it could help prove my innocence (and I wasn't sure how it would), it isn't something I should be interfering with.

 

* * *

 

I decided to move my investigation elsewhere. But I didn't know where exactly to go. I guessed that I'd have to go somewhere that had something to do with that knife… And that's when it hit me. It was a kitchen knife. That's where I saw it before. It must have come from the kitchen!

I made a B-line to the dining hall and headed straight for the kitchen. I remembered the line of knives hanging up on the wall. So, if one of them is missing, then that'll be more than enough to prove that's where it came from.

When I entered, I saw Hina hoarding donuts like they were going extinct. She froze like a deer in headlights as I caught her. I simply said, "Relax. It's not like it's a crime to be taking donuts."

She cleared her throat and said, "I mean, it's not like I was trying to hide them. I just wasn't expecting anyone else here."

"Shouldn't you be investigating with everyone else?"

"I mean, we all know you did it so –"

"I didn't do it!" I shouted reflexively. I noticed I made her uncomfortable, so I calmed myself down before speaking again. "Sorry, but… I've been trying to find evidence that helps my case."

"So, why are you here?"

I looked to the wall and noticed the knives on the wall, and my suspicions were confirmed. There was a knife missing from the lineup. Perfect. "Look there," I said as I pointed at the knives. "Did you ever notice that one of the knives were missing?"

She looked at it and said, "Yeah. I thought it was weird. Last night, I was having some tea with Ogami. I saw it up there when I was getting the tea, but when I went back to find some sugar, and I noticed it was gone."

"So, you must've seen someone coming in the kitchen last night. Who was it?"

She tapped her chin while thinking about it. "I think it was… Maizono who went in there."

"Then you can tell everyone during the trial!"

"I guess…"

"Look, just keep this in mind. Please, I'm begging you." And I seriously was. This is one thing I needed to help me.

"Okay. I guess so."

"Great! Thanks a lot." I ran out and tried to find more evidence. But the realization hit me again that I was trying to condemn my friend Maizono to death. And that hurt. But I needed to clear my name so we all wouldn't be killed for this.

 

* * *

 

I went looking in the laundry room and hoped that there was some kind of evidence I could find. Maybe some bloodstained clothes that Maizono was trying to wash. I don't know what I expected to find, but I guess it was worth a shot. To be fair, it sounded like I was being a creeper by sifting through what could possibly be her laundry, but chances are, it might help.

And that's when I saw it. I found something behind a washing machine and when I pulled it out, I saw that it was a gray bra. Surprisingly, it seemed like it had some blood on it. If I had to guess, this is definitely Maizono's.

"Doesn't seem like your style," I heard. I screamed when I noticed that Monokuma was standing behind me again. "Check out the size. Maybe it'll fit me. Though, I'm not giving out my measurements to you. You gotta take me to dinner first."

"What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted.

"Just catching a pervert in the act. If I woulda known you were into that, I'd be asking you to go with you. Let's go for Asahina's bras next. They're probably all sports bras, but it's still –"

Okay, this was just more of his nonsense. "I'm just gonna start tuning you out now."

"Oh, how rude! I'm just providing you some company. I'm pretty sure everyone's against you. Even Maizono who's letting you take the fall for this."

I hated the fact that he continued to remind me of that. "Just stop. It's not like that."

"If you say so. I'm just gonna hop out. Maybe we can find some panties." He left again, but I didn't see where he went. I was already walking away from the laundry room. I had more work to get to in order to prove my innocence. In any way possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.


	4. The Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Class Trial begins, and Naegi must bring his friend to justice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the comments on the last chapter! I appreciate seeing them. Now, we get on to the main bulk of what this AU hinges on. Many of the lines will be similar to the game, but I'll try to put my own spin on in some ways so they're not completely following the source.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

It was now the time for the Class Trial. After trying to search for more evidence, Monokuma announced that he had gotten bored of waiting, so the trial was to begin. I didn't know if I had enough evidence to prove that Maizono killed Kuwata. I didn't even know if I had enough evidence to prove that I wasn't the killer. And most importantly, I didn't even know if I had the heart to go through with letting Maizono die for this. All these thoughts ran through my head as I headed to those red velvet doors.

As soon as I pushed it open, I saw all the surviving students standing in front of an elevator. Other than Maizono and Kirigiri, none of them seemed to hide their contempt for me.

Ishimaru was the first to speak up. "You're late, Naegi! We've all been waiting for you!"

Fukawa then said, "Hmph! I bet y-you were afraid to be discovered as the m-murderer you are."

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet! Save that for the class trial! There, we can reveal the details of Naegi's crime!"

"Seriously?!" I shouted. Man, it looked like everyone was convinced I did it. Even Ishimaru of all people!

Celeste came to me and asked, "So, Naegi, did you find anything that could prove your innocence?"

"Well…" I actually wasn't too sure of that. I looked in Maizono's direction and she only looked away as soon as our eyes met.

That's when the screen in the room turned on and showed Monokuma's face. "Upupupu. Is everyone here?" he asked. "Okay. Then please enter the elevator. It will take you down to the courtroom where all your fates will be decided. See you all down there! I'll be waiting…"

With that, the screen cut off and the gate opened. Everyone boarded the elevator as I stood there contemplating how I was going to get through this. I had to do it. I had to prove that I didn't kill Kuwata. And… prove that Maizono did.

"Are you ready?" I heard someone say. I turned around and saw that it was Kirigiri. "It's time to prove your innocence."

My eyes widened as she said that. "You believe me?" I responded.

"I'm sure you have evidence that proves it. And I have my own. In fact, I'm sure you know exactly who did it. Right?"

All I could do was give a nod.

"Then let's get started. Shall we?" She entered the elevator calmly. I gathered the courage to go through with this and boarded the elevator myself. The grate closed and the elevator took us lower.

The elevator descended further and the rattling metal clouded my thoughts, but I couldn't keep my eye off of the goal.

The gate opened up and we walked forward into the room the mastermind had prepared for us. Monokuma sat in a giant throne while the podiums were arranged in a circle. Everyone would be able to see everyone else, and that meant it would also be easy to transfer one's own unease onto someone else. It seems as if the mastermind designed it this way.

"Upupu," he chuckled, "What do ya think? It's almost like a real courtroom."

Owada sniped, "It's a bunch of bullshit is what it is."

He slumped back in his seat and groaned. "Spoilsport. Anyway, just get to your assigned areas. We're about to begin!"

Everyone filed into where they were supposed to stand. This was it. The time to prove my innocence. Of course, Maizono's place was right next to mine. She seemed nervous about something. Possibly being found out. It would have given her away since everyone else had their gaze focused on me with varying levels of scorn and suspicion. However, that was the exact reason they didn't notice. They were too busy focused on me to notice her.

Kirigiri raised her hand and said, "I have a question for you before we begin."

"And what would that be?" Monokuma asked.

"What's with the pictures?" She pointed out the stands that had Kuwata's and Enoshima's faces on them in their respective spots in the circles. Both with the face crossed out in red.

"Oh, come on. I'd feel just awful if they got left out simply because they died. That would be just unfortunate, wouldn't it? Friendship penetrates even the barriers of death." For some reason, Monokuma didn't strike me for the sentimental type.

Celeste added her inquiry, "And what about the number of seats? There are sixteen here, but there would only be fifteen of us at most."

"Now, you're just nitpicking. Look, the courtroom is technically able to hold sixteen students. But let's move on to the trial already. I'm getting antsy just waiting for it!"

It seemed like that would be a mystery for another day."

Monokuma started up again. "Alright, alright, alright! Let's get the ball rolling! Now, let me explain the proceedings. All of you will discuss the details of the case and try to find out which of you is, as I like to call it, 'the Blackened'. If you can figure out who did it, I'll execute the Blackened. However, if you get it wrong… upupupupu… everyone but the Blackened gets executed and the killer gets to graduate."

I listen to his words and just think that there's no way that Maizono would have agreed to this if she knew this was what would happen. She wouldn't condemn all of us like this if she had… would she? I mean, she isn't confessing to any of it yet… The more I think about these things, the more doubt I have about her true intentions.

Monokuma continued, "Alright, now let's get started. The Class Trial has officially begun!"

Ishimaru was the first to speak. "Alright then! Now, let's close our eyes and whoever is the killer, raise your hand!"

Owada looked at Ishimaru with the same confusion and awe as the rest of us. He was just the only one to vocalize it by saying, "How fucking stupid are you? No one is gonna be dumb enough to actually raise their hand."

"Besides," Fukawa added, "it's obvious th-that it was Naegi who killed him. Kuw-wata was in his room. Case closed."

"But I'm not the killer!" I screamed. I could see Maizono tense up in the corner of my eye. Almost as if she didn't expect me to fight back against the accusation.

"That's exactly what the killer w-w-would say!"

"I can prove that I'm not the killer."

Yamada asked, "And how do you expect to do that?"

Hina, don't fail me now. "You'll notice that the murder weapon is a kitchen knife."

Owada noted, "Yeah, it kinda does look like one."

"So, it must have been taken from the kitchen, obviously. And I was never in there last night to get it."

"Says who?" Celeste questioned.

"I'm glad you asked." I turned my gaze to Asahina. "Hina can testify that I was never in the kitchen to get the knife. Tell them, Hina."

At that moment, I could almost feel Maizono becoming nervous. Hina's account would definitely help in exposing her.

Asahina seemed timid to be singled out so suddenly, but she eventually found her confidence. "Yeah. I was having tea in the dining hall with Ogami. We were there the whole time and never saw Naegi coming in. So, I doubt he would have been the one to take it."

Suddenly, Fukawa came in to throw a wrench in my plan. She said, "And how do we know that y-you and the idiot swimmer girl aren't working t-t-together?"

"'Idiot swimmer girl?!'" she repeated. "And more importantly, why would I get involved in something like that?!"

"Maybe a chance to b-become the Blackened and escape with him."

Togami interrupted and said, "That brings up a good question I'd like to ask the bear. If there was an accomplice on the murder, does that person also become 'blackened'?"

Monokuma giggled. "A great question indeed. You are indeed allowed to have an accomplice, but only the person who takes the victim's life will be permitted to graduate."

Kirigiri added, "So, there's absolutely no benefit in aiding with the murder." Thank God for Kirigiri bringing that up. It may have helped save our lives.

"See?!" Asahina exclaimed. "There's nothing in it for me."

Owada said, "Then there's no way in hell anyone would work together."

Maizono then said, "Maybe they did it before knowing about the rule."

Asahina seemed offended by the accusation. I looked at Maizono and she relaxed a bit now. I don't know what she was thinking, but now she was actively trying to throw them off. More and more, I continue to question the truth of what she said to me.

Yamada added, "Then it would appear that if nothing else, you could have been the one to take the knife since you said you were in the dining hall." Never have I seen someone be so confident and so utterly wrong at the same time.

"I can confirm Hina's story," Ogami said. Everyone's head turned to her intimidating glare. "I was with her in the dining hall that night. We were having tea, and we never saw Naegi enter the dining hall."

That got Maizono on edge. Just as planned. She then tried to throw another curveball by saying, "Then either one of you could have grabbed the knife." I could tell she was desperate even though her tone didn't betray her.

"Actually," Hina replied, "no. Because… well…"

Owada snapped and said, "Fucking spit it out already."

After a long pause from Hina, Ogami spoke up and said, "I stayed in Hina's room last night."

Hina continued, "I got scared, so I asked her to stay with me for the night just for protection." Her confidence picked back up when she said, "So, we have airtight alibis."

Fukawa, annoyingly trying to throw things off, then asked, "B-but doesn't that violate school r-regulations?"

Chihiro mused, "It says that you can only sleep in the dorms… but it never specifies that it has to be in _your_ assigned dorm. In that case, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Of course, it's a problem!" Ishimaru shouted. "A boy and a girl sleeping in the same room together?! It's… _unwholesome!_ "

Everyone fell silent as we turned to Ogami's bewildered expression. "But…" she began, "…I'm a girl."

Ishimaru's face went as white as a sheet as everyone saw his faux pas. "Y… you are? Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! My sincerest apologies for this misunderstanding!" To be fair to him, I almost made the same mistake, so I don't think he's entirely at fault for thinking that. I still had a difficult time believing it.

Monokuma quipped, "Not like it woulda stopped anything. A little yuri action wouldn't hurt anyone, right?"

"If we're done with this pointless back and forth," Togami replied, "you two would have seen who did grab the knife. Am I correct?"

"Yeah," Hina answered. "One other person was in the dining hall."

Maizono's eyes started widening as she saw her opportunities closing to pin this on me.

"It was Maizono," Hina said. "She's the one we saw in the dining hall."

Everyone then looked in her direction and she seemed to subtly panic having been backed into a corner like this.

Ogami added, "That's the only possibility. She was acting rather strangely when she was there. She went straight into the kitchen and didn't even look at us. She seemed surprised when she saw is and said she was just getting a cup of water. That may be when she –"

"Are you serious?!" Maizono shouted. "That doesn't me that I'm the one who did it! Haven't you forgotten? Kuwata was found in _Naegi's room!_ "

"That does raise a good question," Togami stated. "How did the knife end up in Naegi's room to give him the opportunity to kill Kuwata?"

She started shaking as she saw her lie crumbling around her. This was my chance. Unfortunately, she had something in mind already. "Fine," she quietly replied. "You want the truth? Here it is. I did go into the kitchen and take the knife. But I was getting it for him. Like I said before, I didn't know that an accomplice wouldn't be able to graduate and I was so scared."

Suddenly, suspicions were now back on me. I don't believe it! She's now trying to make it look like I'm the one who did it!

"That's not true at all!" I shouted.

"Well," Yamada began, "who would be the more trustworthy one? The teen pop idol sensation or just some nobody?"

"But… but… " My gaze fell upon Kirigiri, who seemed to give me a gaze of confidence. She knew something I didn't know. And that was one thing in particular that I hadn't told anyone else. "I wasn't even in my own room last night!"

"S-s-s-say whaaaaaaaat?!"

"Maizono and I switched rooms for the night. She said she was scared, so we swapped."

"Naegi!" she replied. "Don't lie and drag us down in your place!" She had a lot of nerve to say that to me. I resisted the urge to do something I would regret.

Thankfully, Kirigiri intervened. She spoke up and said, "Actually, this does line up with some evidence that I've found in my own investigation. One thing I noticed is that there seemed to be a lack of any hair from either the killer or the victim. I also noticed that the lint-roller had been extensively used. Since I doubt Naegi is a neat-freak – no offense –"

"None taken, honestly," I replied. "You're not wrong."

"– then this must have been to get rid of the evidence."

Owada said, "The fuck does that have to do with anything? Wouldn't he be getting rid of evidence that Kuwata was there?"

"If that were so, then he would have done something about the body. This was more about getting rid of any evidence that the killer was there. If Naegi was the killer, doesn't it seem odd that he would try to get rid of any evidence of his own presence in his own room even if he was the murderer? It wouldn't be unusual to find traces of his own hair in his room."

Again, thank God for Kirigiri. And it seems like Maizono was more on edge now as Kirigiri was exposing my innocence.

"If I had to guess," she continued, "This was to remove any trace that you had been in the room to keep the room switch a secret."

Maizono spoke up, "But this is just circumstantial. You're trying to blame me for this just because there's no hair in the room?"

"Well, I do have a more damning piece of evidence. I looked at the notepad in Naegi's room. I scribbled in the pad under it to reveal the message left by the impression."

Hina perked up and say, "Oh! I've totally seen that sort of thing on detective shows."

"An old-fashioned technique, yes, but it can be pretty handy."

It seemed like Maizono was swallowing a lump in her throat. She seemed to know that something on that notepad would have screwed her over.

Kirigiri pulled out the notepad and displayed it for everyone. "As you can see, this might be proof of her presence in the room last night."

 

> _Why don't we have some fun for a bit if you know what I mean? Meet me at my room in five minutes. Make sure you check the nameplates to make sure you get the right room. I'll be waiting. ;)_
> 
> _Maizono_

But… she told me she was attacked by Kuwata! Did she really lure him into my room?

She continued, "It seemed like a reasonable proposal. Leon could have been interested in being alone with someone as famous as Sayaka Maizono."

Yamada added, "If someone got a note like that from the Ultimate Pop Sensation, what young man could resist?!" He then got haughty and said, "Of course, it wouldn't work on me since I am only into the 2D variety," as if that was something to be proud of.

"Oh, gosh," Monokuma whined, "how much of a virgin are you, dude? Seriously. I'm all about despair, but that's just pathetic."

"Anyway," Kirigiri said to get things back on track, "it seems that this might support the fact that you were in Naegi's room."

Celeste chimed in, "There seems to be one problem with this theory."

"Huh?" Chihiro inquired. "What's that?"

"The note specifically said, 'my room.'"

"Oh, I see," she replied. "So, that would mean Kuwata would have gone to Maizono's room."

"Exactly. The room Naegi was staying in." She smiled confidently and sweetly, though there was nothing sweet about her right now. "Therefore, there's no possible way for the confusion. In fact, he may have planted that there to throw us off."

"No, that's wrong!" I shouted. And I knew exactly why. I thought I was a goner, but I had a revelation that might help me. "I noticed something about my nameplate this morning. It seemed crooked when I looked at it. I didn't think anything of it since I thought it may have been something that was an issue with how the signs were set up."

Monokuma seemed offended. "Oh, how _dare_ you!" he screamed. "Thinking that I would allow such shoddy work?! I should have you executed just for saying that." I really hoped he wouldn't follow through with that. "Then again, with the faulty door frame, I can see why you'd believe such a thing. I'm still offended though."

"Anyway," I continued, trying to ignore him, "if it wasn't how the signs were set up, then I believe that something else happened."

Maizono chuckled incredulously and said, "What could that possibly be?"

"That you switched the nameplates." Maizono's face was blank with shock. She knew I just busted her. "The note specifically said to check the nameplates. And since our rooms were so close, you could easily have switched them before the murder and after it took place before any of us woke up."

"And you're basing all that on just a crooked nameplate?" She seemed genuinely hurt by the (most likely true) accusation, but I couldn't tell if she was acting to throw off suspicion or if she believed that I wouldn't throw her under the bus like this.

Kirigiri said, "I also came to such a deduction. Glad to see that we're on the same page, Naegi."

"But that's not possible! There's one problem with your theory! How could I possibly fight off someone so much stronger than me? Kuwata would have been too much for me to handle."

Togami added, "I guess we could ask the same of how Naegi was able to subdue him. Though, I feel that he would have an easier time."

No, no, no… there's gotta be a way to deflect this away from me. But more importantly, to think that Maizono would be this manipulative wasn't something I would have ever expected.

"There is a way," Kirigiri replied. "And I think Naegi does know what I'm talking about. There is something in the room that shows this."

I know what it is? But what could she possibly be referring to? What was in my room that could subdue Kuwata?... Wait a minute! The gold on the back of his head and his… lower body… I know where it came from!

"You're talking about the replica sword," I commented.

"Correct," she answered. "The body had some gold shavings on the back of the head and some on his crotch as well. Both places where the killer could have struck Kuwata to incapacitate him. And it is obviously this because…"

She turned to me, waiting for an answer. "It's because the gold paint on that sword comes off like nothing at all. All you have to do is touch it and it'll fall off."

Owada added, "So, that gold shit is the reason that you think that he was struck with the sword sheath?"

"Exactly. That's what I think happened. It probably led to the struggle that tore up half the room."

While it seemed that there were some who still believed that I was guilty, people's attention now went to Maizono as well. We were now the two prime suspects for this murder. A fact that was pushing her to her breaking point.

"Are you kidding?!" Maizono screamed. "All this up to this point could have easily been Naegi trying to frame me for this! There's nothing that could say that it was definitely me! Even the note could have been fabricated!"

"And how could I have possibly done that?" I replied.

"You could have been faking the note! And no one else can confirm that we ever switched rooms! That's totally bogus!" It seems that she had planned on no one finding out that we switched, and I now see why she wanted to keep us swapping the keys secret.

"Well," Kirigiri said, "I believe that there's more than enough to go off of now. Naegi, do you think you can determine what happened?"

Yes… yes, I can…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to include the closing argument in this chapter, but I decided to split it into its own chapter just to give myself a lower workload for this one. I have the next chapter almost complete and I'll try to post it soon. Maybe even tonight if I'm lucky.
> 
> As always, keep leaving comments. I'd love to know what you guys think.


	5. The Verdict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments once again. Now we get to something I've been looking forward to releasing!

_So, here's what I think happened._

_The killer had swapped rooms with me and kept it a secret from everyone. That was so they could enact their plan to lure Kuwata. After this success and everyone was in the dorms, they took the opportunity to switch the nameplates to give the appearance that the room they were staying in was their own instead of mine. After this, they wrote the note to get Kuwata to come over and slipped it under his door._

_Kuwata accepted and they let him in to prepare their attack. I'd assume that they did probably try to entice Kuwata to keep his guard down. That's when they took him by surprise and struck him with the sword sheath. It wasn't as successful as they'd hoped, so they kept fighting. After hitting him in the crotch, they could have easily been able to subdue him in the weakened state. Then, they took him to the bathroom when he was too weak to fight back and finished the job with the kitchen knife._

_They were free and clear as long as they could keep things secret until morning. And to make sure of that, they had to switch the nameplates back. After this, they took the lint roller to get rid of all the hair from the scene to make sure there was no trace of them being there. And with no one else knowing about the room swap, nobody would have any reason to suspect they were ever there._

_But they didn't count on one thing. They didn't count on me fighting back against the accusations and believed I wouldn't have the heart to call them out. They picked me because they thought I wouldn't be willing to expose them. The reason they believed this…_

_…they were my old classmate in middle school. Sayaka Maizono!_

 

* * *

 

Maizono seemed livid as I gave my closing argument. She was speechless. Everyone stared at her with the suspicion they gave me in the beginning. They were about to see her true colors. Something that surprised me and was sure to surprise everyone else.

"So," Kirigiri began, "do you have any objections?"

Maizono calmly looked down and gripped the stand in front of her. Then, what she did next kind of... unnerved me. She started giggling. "Objections?" she quietly said. Though, it was clear that she was seething from the way she said it. It was only proved when she looked up with pure anger and shouted, "OF COURSE, I HAVE FUCKING OBJECTIONS! I can't believe that you would actually try to frame me like this! I wouldn't kill anyone!"

Knowing how hypocritical she was being, I immediately fired back, "I could say the exact same thing to you."

"How dare you accuse me of this! Of everything we've been through here, this is how you repay me?!"

"Lying about this isn't going to help you."

"We were friends, Naegi! And now you're turning your back on me like this?!"

"You did the same thing first!"

"Because you're the murderer! You don't have any evidence that it was actually me!"

"And the note?"

"Like I said you could have written it to implicate me! This doesn't prove anything!" I could tell that she was at the end of her rope now. "You have nothing that points to me!"

"Would you bet your life on it?!"

"You're goddamn right, I would! There is nothing that actually points to me being in there! You don't have a single thing that proves that I was the one in your room last night!"

It was time to deliver the final blow. I reached into my pocket to get the evidence I needed. "Then how about you explain…" I pulled out the bloodstained bra I found in the laundry room. "…this?!"

Her eyes widened as she saw her entire argument crack. She was caught in a corner.

I continued, "I found this bra in the laundry room earlier today. It was stashed away, hidden as if she couldn't actually figure out a way to get rid of it. If I had to guess, this bra might be your exact size. And the blood on it belongs to Kuwata. So, if you other girls mind me asking, would any of you be able to fit into a bra made for an 83 cm bust?"

All the girls shook their heads. Kirigiri was the only one who spoke up by saying. "I'd say I'm the closest, but I'm one centimeter short. And as we established, I was not anywhere near the rooms."

Everyone's gaze turned back to Maizono who was completely dumbfounded. She had nothing. No way out. No backup plan. No rebuttal. She was done. "I'm sorry, Maizono, but I'm not letting everyone else die for your mistake."

After all of that, Maizono collapsed to her knees, sobbing. I pitied her at that moment. She was just doing what she needed to in order to see her friends again. It wasn't her own fault that she was driven to become a killer. It was the mastermind's Killing Game. That person is to blame for the situation we were in. But after all that I've seen, it was difficult to feel completely sorry for her seeing how willing she was to turn her back on me.

"Oh, this is just juicy!" Monokuma screamed. "Never could I have imagined such despair in the very first trial! The friends turning against each other, the classic story of betrayal!" If I had enough energy for it, I would have told him to shut up right then and there, but everyone was oddly reverent to Maizono's breakdown. Myself included. We couldn't really say much in response.

Celeste said the only possible thing we could have said, "It seems that we are finished here."

"In that case, if you have reached your verdict, now comes the time for the final vote. Pull the levers in front of you to choose who you think is the Blackened. And everyone must vote. You wouldn't wanna get punished for something so minor. Now, will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong choice? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?!"

Everyone put in their vote. I hesitated, knowing that I would be allowing Maizono to be executed, but I still pulled the lever to vote for her. Once the votes were cast, some sort of slot machine came down to show the results. As all the cylinders rolled with our faces on it, they slowed down and all three of them landed on Maizono. Confetti sprayed out and the lights flashed as if this was something to celebrate. More proof of the mastermind's twisted mindset.

"Correct!" Monokuma announced. "The one who murdered Leon Kuwata is none other than… _Sayaka Maizono!_ "

I hung my head down in shame I couldn't even bring myself to look at her.

Through choked sobs, she finally said to me, "I'm sorry, Naegi…"

Togami replied, "You were so desperate to see your group again that you would have let us all die? I don't think 'sorry' will cut it."

"I didn't want this…" Wait, what? "I didn't know… you'd all get punished… I just wanted to see them again… and I couldn't back down after… what I did…"

"Upupupupupupu," Monokuma giggled. "Trying to put on the act until the very end? How admirable."

Wait a minute… "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Miss Maizono wants you to think she's the ignorant victim, but in reality, I think this footage from my cameras will provide some insight."

He pointed up at a monitor that had suddenly appeared. As soon as it turned on, it showed Maizono in the halls calling for Monokuma. What the hell is this?

The bear appeared to answer her calls. _"Why must I be bothered by this noise?"_ he said. _"What is it that you want?"_

As she watched the footage of herself, Maizono started to shake her head, trembling as if this would make things worse. And if Monokuma was any indication, it would.

On the screen, Maizono inquired, _"I have a question about the school rules about graduation."_

_"Upupupupu. Considering killing someone, aren’t you?"_

_"Well, I wanted to know what it meant by killing and getting caught."_

"No, no, no…" the present Maizono muttered.

 _"I'm glad you asked,"_ the recorded Monokuma replied. _"After the body is discovered, I'll allow a period to investigate. That's when the class trial will be held."_

_"Class trial?"_

"Turn it off," present Maizono said quietly.

In the video, Monokuma continued. _"See, if the trial determines you are guilty, you will be punished and executed. But if the wrong person is found guilty, everyone but the killer will be killed."_

Where was this going? It seemed to rile up Maizono because she angrily shouted, "Turn that fucking thing off!"

 _"So,"_ the video-Maizono continued, _"if I killed someone and got away with it, then everyone else would be killed in my place."_

 _"Quite the dilemma,"_ video Monokuma replied. _"Are you willing to go through with that? If you ever wanna see your friends again, that's what you gotta do."_

And Maizono's response on the video? _"Thanks for telling me."_

Then static filled the screen as it rose back up into the ceiling. Maizono was ashen as she endured the new scrutiny of her peers. I couldn't believe it. She knew that we'd be executed if she got away with it?! And still went through with this?!

"For the record," Monokuma stated, "that was just before she went to Naegi's room." WHAT?! My gaze turned to Maizono as I heard what he said. "Didn't even wait five minutes before putting this plan in action."

Tears started forming in my eyes as I turned back to her. Enraged at the fact that she would try to do this.

Owada voiced my thoughts perfectly. "You fucking knew about this shit and you still did it?!"

Maizono could barely speak. "I… I…"

Togami added, "I never would have imagined such underhanded tactics from someone like you."

"It was… I just… I…"

Her eyes met mine and it was almost as if she could tell that my heart shattered into a million pieces because of this. "So," I began, "you tricked me knowing exactly what would happen from the start of this plan?"

"Naegi…"

"Did you lie to me the whole time? Did you ever actually want to be my friend?!"

She rubbed her forearm nervously. "…At first, I did. I genuinely did. And I still would if I could help the rules, but –"

"I wasn't even important enough to you to be anything more than a pawn?"

She did nothing but wipe her tears. It seemed that I wasn't far off the mark. As much as it hurt me to admit it.

Monokuma, to add insult to injury, spoke again. "Hey, don't be so glum, chum. If you really feel betrayed by her, then you're gonna love what I have planned for the punishment!"

That's when my feelings turned to horror. I had almost forgotten. Maizono had to be executed. And she seemed just as surprised as the rest of us.

Maizono spoke up and said, "I guess I can't apologize enough for this… so maybe this is the only way you'll forgive me…"

To think that she'd actually say that… I know what she did, but… part of me couldn't accept that.

"Aw, look at that," Monokuma continued. "Someone who's already fallen into the depths of despair. So hopeless that she doesn't even think her friends will forgive her for this betrayal. That's exactly what I love to see here!"

Maizono seemed so out of energy that she didn't even put up a fight. "Just get it over with and kill me already," she said.

"Hold on!" I screamed. "Wait a sec!"

Monokuma didn't even stop for a moment. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka Maizono!"

The anger I felt towards her was now turned to being mortified at what the mastermind had in store for her. And as much as she tried to hide it, I could tell that she was feeling the same way.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's… _Punishment Time!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are liking this so far. (Well, as much as you can like some of your favorite characters being pushed into despair like this.) As always, keep leaving comments, and I'll be working on The Punishment for Sayaka very soon. (I'm sure someone will guess what it is. Feel free to comment if you think you know.)
> 
> Also, fun fact, having to look up the girls' exact bust sizes can be a little awkward, but at least it was easier than looking it up for the _RWBY_ girls. At least the _Danganronpa_ girls have theirs recorded (for some reason).


	6. The Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may recognize the execution since it's the unused one from the art book. I thought I'd incorporate it since it would be a fitting way to go about it. Anyways, here's the last chapter.

Monokuma pulled out a gavel as a large red button rose from the ground. He slammed the button and officially solidified the verdict.

**GAME OVER**

**MAIZONO WAS VOTED GUILTY.  
TIME FOR HER PUNISHMENT!**

Now, Maizono was staring at all of us in horror, sweating bullets as she waited for what the mastermind had in store for her. It wasn't long until a clamp braced itself around Maizono's neck. It was attached to a rope and it dragged her away. She had only an expression of horror on her face as we all watched.

She got dragged down a long hallway until she was forced into a makeup chair, getting prepared as if she was about to perform a concert. The brace on her neck pulled her away again and put her on a platform. As it turned out, that's exactly what it was. A concert. When she rose to the top, she was on stage with a microphone in hand. We were all in the crowd along with dozens of extra Monokumas. There was a meter on the side ranging from zero to twenty to rate her performance. And the reason why that was there… was the giant beartrap-like contraption that she was standing in the center of. This was her punishment.

_Sayaka Maizono's Final Performance_

She tried to sing her heart out as she noticed the meter still going up. She tried to keep her nervousness hidden, but it was no use. She was still sweating as she sang up on stage. The Monokumas roared with applause and adoration, but we were left silent as we watched her literally singing for her life.

But it seemed that she had a way out of it. Getting to the score of a perfect twenty would keep her safe. It took some time, but she was at nineteen when she was close to the end of her song. It looked like she had some hope after all.

That was her mistake. Just before it could reach twenty, another Monokuma appeared with a sledgehammer and smashed the meter. Maizono's eyes widened with fear as she saw his smug face staring at her. Everything went so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Without warning, the metal teeth snapped closed and sliced her in half. Every one of us watched in horror as we could do nothing about it.

Her torso flew through the air and landed on the ground just in front of the stage. Her final scream permanently forged into her face. As blood poured out of her midsection, her hand released the microphone after losing all her strength. The mic rolled all the way to my feet, stopping just as it hit my toes.

 

"EXTREME!" Monokuma yelled as he jumped out of nowhere. "Oh, man. I feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins!"

Just about everyone was freaking out at what we just saw. We couldn't handle what we just saw. Everyone who could speak only continued voicing their horror. I was not one of them. My eyes were only wide with shock.

"Hey, come on, hoodie," Monokuma said. I looked at him and his smug face. "You know exactly what she did. The backstabber got what she deserved. Her broken promises led to her own broken dreams. Isn't it so despair-inducing?" He danced around happily at the idea.

"Y… you…" I stuttered. "This is all your fault… it's all your fault!" I clenched my fists and tried to advance forward on him.

Kirigiri stopped me. "No, Naegi," she said. "If you ever want to avenge for what has happened, getting yourself killed won't ever help you."

I… couldn't disagree. And I could see that Monokuma giggled as he watched me. Enraged about what happened, but unable to directly do anything about it. Damn him. Damn the mastermind. Damn it all…

 

* * *

 

I laid in my bed just exhausted from everything that happened. When I came back to my room, It was as if nothing ever happened. Everything was all fixed and restored. I looked into the bathroom and it was as if Kuwata was never in there. Every last trace of him was gone. I couldn't even think of what to say. Maizono was dead. She betrayed me. She killed Kuwata and we all had to expose her. All to allow the mastermind to execute her. Nothing was the same anymore.

That's when I heard someone ringing the doorbell. I didn't even want to talk to anyone, but it wouldn't really hurt at all. I opened the door and saw Kirigiri.

"Hey," I said. There wasn't even anything I could say now.

She asked, "Mind if I come in?"

I said nothing as I allowed her into my room. She entered without a word as well. All I did was sit on my bed and hang my head down.

She stood in front of me and said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"It's about Maizono isn't it."

She nodded. "It's an undeniable fact that she attempted to frame you for the murder. There's no getting around that."

"And?"

"I noticed something about her throughout the trial. She seemed hesitant to go through with this. Even after making it all this way to the trial in order to condemn all of us, it seemed that she was remorseful."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think back to what she said when you asked her about if it was all a lie? She may have been willing to deceive you… but that doesn't change anything about what you had together before it happened."

I looked up at Kirigiri with tears in my eyes.

"I think that's the very reason that she accepted her punishment when she saw that there was no way to get out of it. And it's also the reason she didn't want to say anything about the meeting with Monokuma. If she didn't care about your feelings, she never would have reacted so strongly to the footage."

"And what does this all mean?"

She was silent but finally gave a response. "Even though all the betrayal and lies, I think she still cared about you. She knew how you felt about having to be framed for this and wanted you to at least live on with some belief that she was still a victim in all this. Because in reality… as you very well know… she still was."

She was right. Maizono wouldn't have ever gone to these lengths if there wasn't something like this on the line. If the circumstances were different, we would have been friends. Maybe even more. In the end… even after trying to betray me… she still wanted to be my friend.

"And that's why it hurt her so much to go through with this," I replied. "Right?"

She nodded. "I can't say what exactly she was thinking. All we can do now is theorize. But if there's one thing I can say for sure… it's that she did feel guilty about hurting you. Maybe she would have been fine with the rest of us going down, but she never _wanted_ to hurt you."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"It's supposed to help move forward. To persevere in light of this situation. Without someone who could move on in the light of this tragedy."

"Move on… from my friends' deaths… I can't do that." She looked at me with a subtle expression of surprise. Almost as if she didn't expect it. "Maizono… Kuwata… I can't just forget about them. I can't just move on from their deaths. This isn't the kind of thing I can ever forget. I'll be carrying this for the rest of my life…"

She was silent, but her response came not long after. "So, you're choosing the hard road then. Very well. In that case, I still have high hopes for you Naegi." I saw the smallest hint of a smile form on her face. I thought I'd never see that happen, but there it was right in front of me. For some reason, it still filled me with undeniable hope.

As she turned to leave, she stopped in front of the door. "By the way," she began, "how did you know I was going to talk about Maizono?"

I don't know what came over me, but something she told me just came to mind and I couldn't help but say it. "Well, you see… I'm actually psychic."

Kirigiri was caught off guard. "Huh?"

I chuckled and said, "Just kidding. It was just my intuition."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know what you think of the story in the comments. Don't be shy. Please let me know. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you feel like checking out some of my other fics as well.


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